2/16 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Tommaso Ciampa vs. T-Bar, Mahaan vs. Crews, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
FEBRUARY 16, 2022
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton and Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

Can Apollo Crews stop Veer?

(1) APOLLO CREWS (w/ Commander Azeez) vs. VEER MAHAAN

The men grappled into a corner to start. Veer backed off and invited Crews to restart in the center of the ring. They did, and Crews kicked Mahaan in the gut and applied a side headlock. Mahaan fired Crews off the ropes and knocked him down with a shoulder block. Mahaan planted Crews with a sidewalk slam, then screamed emphatically before dropping his elbow onto Crews. Azeez distracted Mahaan from the floor, allowing Crews to run in with a barrage of forearm strikes from behind. He briefly choked Mahaan against the middle rope, and when the referee backed Crews away from the illegal hold, Azeez moved in again and smacked Mahaan across the face from the floor. The audience booed a bit while Crews held Mahaan on the mat with a chin lock.

Mahaan got to his feet but Crews knocked him back down with quick drop kicks. He hit a standing moonsault and covered for a two-count. Crews hit a couple deliberate forearm shots to Mahaan’s face. Mahaan dodged a charging Crews in the corner, then ran back in to splash Crews in said corner. Crews ducked a clothesline and drop kicked Mahaan in the face. Crews ran the ropes but Mahaan recovered and leveled Crews with a clothesline. Mahaan lifted his arms to the crowd, then smashed Crews with a DDT. He covered Crews for the three-count.

WINNER: Veer Mahaan by pinfall in 5:00.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Crews came across as Mahaan’s biggest challenge so far in his Main Event run. Mahaan exhibited a babyface trifecta: High-fiving fans, encouraging fair play in the ring, and being an easily-distracted simpleton. The match was standard.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair from Smackdown
• Replay of Lita / Lynch contract signing from Raw
• Replay of men’s Elimination Chamber confrontation from Raw
• Replay of Orton vs. Rollins from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PLE Elimination Chamber

(2) TOMMASO CIAMPA vs. T-BAR

Ciampa controlled early with a side headlock. T-Bar fired him off and they collided with shoulder blocks. Ciampa chopped T-Bar in the chest and reapplied the headlock. T-Bar tried to fire him off again but Ciampa held tight. T-Bar pried Ciampa off of him by yanking his beard, then tossed him through the ropes. Ciampa remained on the apron and rammed his shoulder into T-Bar’s midsection. Ciampa hit a neckbreaker to T-Bar against the middle rope, then patted himself on the shoulder. Ciampa hit five downward strikes to T-Bar in the corner, but T-Bar carried Ciampa away and dropped him face-first onto the top turnbuckle. He clotheslined the stunned Ciampa to the mat as we cut to break.

We returned to the action just in time to see T-Bar apply a chin lock on the mat. Ciampa battled out but T-Bar knocked him down with a reverse elbow, then covered for two. T-Bar went back to the chin lock. Ciampa finally got his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. T-Bar scooped Ciampa and hit a backbreaker, then covered for two and reapplied the chin lock.

This time Ciampa escaped with a jawbreaker, then hit a reverse elbow to Ciampa’s chin. He chopped and punched T-Bar across the ring, and it took three clotheslines for Ciampa to knock T-Bar to the mat. He ran at T-Bar to attempt a knee strike, but T-Bar saw him coming and grabbed him by the throat. Ciampa broke free and nailed T-Bar with a roundhouse right. T-Bar came back with a big boot to Ciampa’s face. T-Bar set Ciampa up for Eyes Wide Shut, but Ciampa slipped out and rolled T-Bar to the mat. Ciampa bypassed a pin attempt and instead blasted T-Bar in the face with his knee. Ciampa pinned T-Bar with an inside cradle for the three-count.

WINNER: Tommaso Ciampa by pinfall in 8:30.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Pretty good action that stretched the limit of Main Event match length. A cool tease and reward for Ciampa’s knee strike. Ciampa is not being hindered by 50/50 booking – he has defeated T-Bar twice so far on Main Event.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.4

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MAIN EVENT REPORT: 2/9 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Veer Mahaan vs. T-Bar, Dirty Dawgs vs. Hurt Business, more